TOP 10: Barfi! scenes that are 'copied'

By Hindustan Times

Anurag Basu's Barfi! is creating a lot of buzz over being selected as India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The film, however, seems heavily inspired by many movies.

Produced by UTV Motion Pictures, Barfi! is a love story, set in 1970s Bengal, of a deaf-and-mute guy (portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor) and an autistic girl (played by Priyanka Chopra). South siren Ileana D'Cruz also features in the film.

Originality in Barfi's script is under question and many think that the director should have used his own creativity rather than aping scenes from various films.

Check out:

I In the scene where Ranbir plans to rob a bank, he plays hide-and-seek with Saurabh Shukla's cop character using a sliding door. The sequence is similar to Charlie Chaplin's 1917 short film, The Adventurer.

II The sequence where Ranbir sits on a sofa with a dummy and tries to entertain Priyanka is also lifted from Singin' in the Rain.

Barfi! scenes on left are copied from the scenes on right.

III The ladder sequence at the start of the film looks like a copy from Buster Keaton's 1922 comedy, Cops. The scene shows Ranbir balancing on a ladder while cops try to pull him down.

IV The scene where Barfi is found sleeping under the cover of a statue that is unveiled is lifted from Chaplin's 1931 hit, City Lights.

V The bicycle chase scene in Barfi! also seems to be inspired by Jackie Chan's 1983 comedy hit Project A.

VI There is a scene in Barfi where Rupa Ganguly, who plays Ileana's mom, tells her about her past lover. It is taken from 2004 romantic drama, The Notebook.

VII Even the end scene where Ranbir and Priyanka die together, sleeping in each other's arms, is directly copied from The Notebook.

VIII The scene where Ranbir walks into a door and his nose gets bent is taken from 1952 American musical comedy Singin' in the Rain.

IX Apart from the scenes, the idea of the film seems to be inspired by 1993 Johnny Depp-starrer, Benny & Joon, which was a film about a mentally ill girl finding love with an eccentric man.

X Pritam's theme tune in Barfi! is also similar to what Yann Tiersen composed for 2001 French comedy, Amélie.